Chord changes

you have not said how long you have been playing for, but All I can say is keep practicing.

Or maybe you could try doing sometihng like knocking on heavens door, or another slow song that you are comfortable doing then just speed it up.

or get the chords to a " 3 chord wonder" that is fast and slow it right down and keep at it until you get faster.

Ken

hey mick...i've been playing about a year or so and have the same prob. basically.

  But recently a freind showed me the following chord runs that have helped tremendously:

C-Am-F-G   and also.-   G-Em-C-D

Try different tempos and strumming patterns

Hope this helps..

dADa

yeah, that reminds me,

i done this when i first started, I consentrated on two chords i.e. D and G and just strummed each chord once and never moved onto another chord change until i had went from D to G, then G to D easily enough that I didnt have to look.

Ken

Your left hand (if you're right-handed) has to develop "muscle memory" so it can grab chords without your brain telling you to plant your fingers on the correct frets in a time-consuming sequence.  This skill comes only with hours upon hours of practice and repetition--there is no shortcut.  Most beginners who pick up guitar playing and then drop it don't commit to the patience and self discipline required to reach the level of competence they had hoped to achieve.

I think we all can agree that we've gone through this phase in our guitar lives.  Changing chords proficiently takes time and require practice.  I do agree with everyone here, that practiciing with major chords using the first three frets will provide a good foundation into other more complex chords. 

I also agree that practicing at least 30 minutes every day will help create the muscle memory and coordination one needs to be proficient.

Kahuna

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>joeyslowfingers wrote on Mon, 04 September 2006 13&#58;49</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
this is all so true, ive been at it for ten months now and its all about practice and practice and more practice.

  my improvements have been slow and sometimes ive wandered if i will ever get anywhere <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_eek.gif" border=0 alt="Shocked"> .

  just keep practicing and it will come

try a,d,e then mabey g,c,d  or pick a song you like and find the chords for it and play them till your changing those chords resonably well  and that will give you the confidence to keep going.

and always warm up with some simple fingerings up and down the fret board, boring as hell but it builds stregnth and gets the fingers moving better.

try learning all the notes on the fretboard and run through them one string at a time saying the notes  as you go, handy stuff to know and as you progress you will be glad you learned this <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_razz.gif" border=0 alt="Razz">

  hope this helps
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Hendo's right!  Muscle memory (for your fingers) comes with practice and repetition.  I also agree with Dada about chord progression patterns.  Going from C-Am-F-G will help build muscle memory!  Another reason to practice with this progression is the use of your "Guide Finger."  If you notice, going from C to Am to F, requires that your index finger be on the 2nd string, 1st fret, throughout all three chords. So, changing chords between all three should be easier to do.

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>Hendo wrote on Sun, 08 October 2006 13&#58;18</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Thought I'd affirm that this is a common thing to feel.  I struggled with it in the past, especially G to C when I was starting as it was such a big move for my fingers.  I almost packed it in but as the good advice said before, practice it all day and all night all week.  You will see improvement soon.
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